Wednesday, 3 August 2011

The World's Tallest Building,Kingdom Tower in Jeddah

Dubai had better enjoy having the world’s tallest tower while they can, as construction is set to begin on the Jeddah Kingdom Tower. The Jeddah kingdom tower will stand over 1,000 meters (3,280 feet), besting the Burj Khalifa by over 200 meters.

Chicago architectural firm Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture has released this image, the first one of the tower, and boy is it something. The tower is expected to cost $1.2 billion to build.

The Kingdom Tower will be home to a Four Seasons Hotel, luxury condos, luxury office space and “the world’s highest observatory.” Fifty-nine elevators and 12 escalators will service the tower and floor 157 will host a sky terrace, accessible to the penthouse. The tower will also have some green features such as a high performance exterior wall to minimize thermal loads and the need for interior cooling. In addition, strategic exterior pockets were designed to create shade for the same reason, and to cool outdoor terraces naturally. Still, this is yet another Middle Eastern project that we think is seriously dubious.